Tuesday, October 15, 2013

THE ARMY SAHAYAK (BATMAN) - ANACHRONISM or NECESSITY ?

THE ARMY SAHAYAK (BATMAN) – ANACHRONISM or NECESSITY ?

Incoherent Ramblings of a Retired Mind

By

VIKRAM KARVE

Disclaimer:

Please read this only if you have a sense of humour. This is a spoof, a yarn, just for a laugh, so please take it with a pinch of salt. This is a work of fiction. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

NB

No part of this Blog may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Blog Author Vikram Karve who holds the copyright.

The CTC (Cost To Company) of an Army Officer
is much higher than his equivalent Navy or Air Force Officer.

In addition to the pay and perks (which are roughly
the same), an Army Officer gets another “perk” called a “Sahayak” (aka “Batman” or “Orderly”).

Long back, I was posted as faculty in a
tri-service training institution.

On the faculty, there were officers of the
Army, Navy and Air Force and all officers did exactly the same job.

We were all instructors and whether you were
in the Army, Navy or Air Force, the job was identical – to teach.

But only the Army Officers had “Sahayaks”.

This was starkly evident in the evenings when
we all went for long walks.

I had a pet dog.

My neighbor was a senior Air Force Group
Captain who also had a dog.

We used to personally take our dogs for a
walk in the evenings (and in the mornings too).

A number of Army Officers had pet dogs too.

But not a single army officer would take his
dog for a walk.

“Dogwalking” was the “duty” of the “Sahayak”.

Yes, walking the Sahib’s dog was the Sahayak’s
job – maybe it was “below the dignity” for an army officer to take his dog for
a walk.

I noticed that the practice of Sahayaks walking
officers’ dogs was quite a common sight in army cantonments and tri-service
institutions.

In fact, some of my army friends used to
leave their dogs with their sahayaks when they came home on leave or went on
courses.

One army officer’s wife even commented that looking
after their dog was the sahayak’s job; and I observed that what she said was
true – the sahayak took full care of the dog – the dog’s food, walks, grooming,
bath, everything.

Every time a discussion on “sahayaks” comes up,
most army officers are quick to defend this ancient practice saying that
sahayaks are required for officers in the “field”.

Agreed – army officers require soldiers as sahayaks
in the field.

But how can you justify soldiers being
deputed as sahayaks in peacetime family stations, especially in inter-service
establishments where you have Navy and Air Force Officers doing exactly the
same job as Army Officers.

What rankles even more in inter-service
training institutions is when some resourceful “student officers” from the army
manage to get their “sahayaks” and flaunt them in front of senior navy and air
force officers on the staff.

What is the genesis of this practice – why does
an army officer need a “sahayak”?

An old-timer army veteran once told me that a
sahayak(batman)
is not a private servant and he is not provided to an army officer to perform
the duties of a domestic help.

The sahayak is not a domestic orderly.

The sahayak or batman is a combat soldier.

(The word “batman” is short form of “battle-man”)

The batman is actually a “runner” who always
accompanies the officer in battle and his primary duty in combat operations is
to convey the orders of the officer to his subordinates, particularly when the
wireless is not functioning.

Besides his primary task as a “runner, the sahayak or batman is supposed to look after
the officer’s needs, his equipment and uniform, act as a bodyguard and protect
the officer and generally be his “buddy” while the officer is engaged in combat
operations.

Thus the batman was the officer’s “battle-man”,
his buddy in combat, and there was no question of a batman being employed on
any nature of domestic work, especially in peacetime family stations and in the
homes of officers.

This is what the old-timer told me.

Unfortunately the perception created in the
minds of people is quite different.

It may not be entirely correct, but unfortunately,
the general impression today is that a sahayak
or batman is a personal servant of the army officer and his family.

Again I say that this may not be a correct
picture.

But then what will be the impression created
in the minds of people when they observe army officers using their sahayaks to take their dogs for walks, send
them to the market for shopping, and to perform various types of domestic work
and household chores.

This is visible to everyone in peacetime stations
and cantonments, sometimes even in civilian areas where army officers live.

A recently retired army officer’s wife told
me that the one thing she misses the most is her “sahayak”.

I don’t think it is possible, but someone
once mentioned that some resourceful army officers “manage” to get sahayaks
even after retirement.

Another argument army officers use to justify
the institution of “sahayak” is that even other Civilian Officers (IAS, IPS,
Railways, PSUs, etc) have various government employees deputed as “attendants” in
their homes for similar domestic duties.

I wonder whether other modern armies still have
still batmen and whether civil servants of modern nations get “attendants” for
their domestic work.

Well, it seems that we still remain a feudal
society with the same old colonial culture, and these “Relics of the Raj” are
not going to go away in a hurry.

Meanwhile, how about providing “sahayaks” to
Navy and Air Force Officers!

All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

NB:

No part of this Blog may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Blog Author Vikram Karve who holds the copyright.

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer and blogger. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and an anthology of short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional and academic research papers in journals and edited in-house journals and magazines for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

About Me

A creative person with a zest for
life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer. Educated
at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School
Pune, Vikram has published two books:COCKTAILa collection of fiction short stories about relationships
(2011) andAPPETITE FOR A STROLLa
book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel, writing short fiction and compiling his memoirs. An avid
blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories, creative
non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, books, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories, self help and art of living essays in magazines and journals and published a number of professional research papers and reviews and edited in-house magazines and journals for many years, before the advent
of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to
creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse -
his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative
thoughts.